Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup

I spent an amazing weekend wine tasting with my husband for our anniversary, and while you'll never get me to give up my vino, a weekend of sampling all that the great state of California's harvest had to offer left me feeling a little off kilter on this Monday.  This can usually be remedied with some detox recipes -  simple, whole foods that are easy on my post Sunday-funday stomach (this girl does not drink lemonade for 10 days, she gets way too hangry)

This chicken soup is just easy.  Easy to make, easy to eat, easy on the wallet, easy on the stomach.  It's simple enough to be comforting but also a little unique so it has some great flavor.

Paleo Cucumber Cilantro Gazpacho

I recently came into some produce after the Crossfit Game (an entire box of cucumbers to be correct), and while it may be a fun challenge to see how many cucumber margs we can drink, we are adults and try to have some level of responsibility, so I needed plan B.  

This is a quick, spicy and refreshing summer soup that is even better on day 2.  

Easy Paleo Coconut Soup

I posted this picture on my instagram the other day, and I got a few requests to share the recipe.  I wish I could say this was culinary magic but it's really just my go-to when I want something healthy that's fast - and you can stock most of the ingredients in your pantry.

I make this soup ALL THE TIME.  It's a quick open/chop/simmer soup that you can make in about 20 minutes, that's spicy, creamy and satisfying.  It's also really easy to make modifications so feel free to use whatever veggies you have in your fridge.  

If you have an Asian market in your 'hood, please check it out.  You can get all of those great condiments and they usually have great quality fish.  Not to mention it's fun to roam the aisles and see all the weird 'food' items they tend to sell. Quick note about fish sauce - it smells terrible.  Why you ask would you use it in food? Well, it has this magical power to make food taste amazing and rich, even though you may want to gag while you're squirting it in the pot.  You're going to have to trust me on this one. 

Paleo Kale, Yam & Kielbasa Soup

There has been a nasty bug making it's way around my circle... a hacking, snotty, feverish bug that took us both down.  I had trouble motivating myself to fill up my water glass, let alone try and make myself something to eat.  While my appetite was 'meh' at best, you still have to eat something, and this is my go-to, throw-together-in-a-pinch type of soup.

Keep reading for the (ridiculously easy) recipe.  So easy even a sick person can do it. 

Paleo Tunisian Beef & Meatball Stew

This recipe for T'fina Pkaila came from Saveur, and it's perfect for a rainy day.  With beef ribs and meatballs, you get a double dose of bovine, and the color from the carrots and spinach make it a gorgeous dish to serve.

Meatballs:

olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 lbs ground veal (or ground beef)

1 tbs cumin

1 tbs pepper

2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg, beaten

Heat oil in a large pot (I used a dutch oven), and cook onions until trabsulcent.  Transfer to a bowl and mix all remaining ingredients together (using your hands works best), then form the mixture into balls.  Add a little more oil to the pan, and brown all sides of the meatballs - this will probably take a few batches.  Put meatballs on a plate and set aside.

Stew:

Olive oil

2 lbs beef short ribs* 

4 gloves garlic, mined

1 large onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and cubed

5 cups beef stock

10+ oz spinach leaves, roughly chopped

salt & pepper

Season beef with salt and pepper, browning the sides.  Remove from pan and add onions and garlic and cook about 5 minutes.  Return beef to pot, add stock and carrots and simmer on low (covered) for about an hour.  Add meatballs and cook about 10 more minutes, add spinach about 5 minutes before serving so it stays green and doesn't get too soggy.

*When I was at the market there were 2 beautiful beef shanks/osso bucco on sale so I bought them instead of splurging on the short ribs. 

Beet and Fennel Soup

"I loooooove amuse-bouche!" These are the first words I heard from my sister as I pulled out all my little porcelain spoons prepping for a party.  Amuse-bouche, which is simply just a quick one-bite palate teaser, (usually chef's selection and not officially 'ordered' off a menu), is a nice and sophisticated way to serve up your latest creation.  Because seriously, when you're trying to impress dinner guests, offering them an amuse-bouche is way classier than a mouth amuser! It's amazing what some cheap spoons can do for your plating abilities. 

You can really do anything, but I wanted to do a cold soup, so I decided to a beet and fennel soup with a tiny dollop of greek yogurt (the recipe is paleo without the yogurt garnish).  It's a fantastic color, a combo of earthy and anise flavors, and good for your belly too. 

Saute beets, fennel bulb, onion and fenugreek seeds with some chicken stock until soft.  Pulse in a food processor -adding chicken stock as needed - until you get the desired consistency.  It's delicious warm or cold.

Barramundi & Coconut Vegetable Chowder

I have a bunch of cookbooks and get a few food magazines (I cry a little every time I think about my beloved Gourmet), and I really enjoy the challenge of taking recipes that sound delicious, but don't necessarily fit in with our style of eating, and turning them into paleo-friendly dishes.  I channel my favorite chefs, put on one of my many aprons, crank the iPod and have my own little test kitchen session.  Sometimes it works...other times, it's pretty apparent my modifications were less than stellar and our dog Brody gets a nice meal, but in any case it's an adventure.  This recipe came out better than I could have imagined, and there were no leftovers to be had.

I adapted this recipe from the October Bon Appetit magazine, where they took it from Happy Restaurant in Boulder. 

For the chowder:

Heat 1 tbs oil in a large pot - add 1 cup diced onion, 3 kaffir lime leaves (if you can't find them, you can use the zest and juice frPublish Postom 1 lime), 3 large fresh basil leaves, 1 tbs minced fresh ginger, 1 chopped jalapeno with seeds, 2 smashed garlic cloves.  Stir occasionally for 4-5 minutes, then add 3 cups canned coconut milk, 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 tbs salt, 1-2 tsp chili oil, and 1 15oz bottle fresh carrot juice.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.  Strain out the solids - pressing them to get all the liquid out - and return liquid to pot.

Peel and cube (removing the seeds) of 1 small acorn or delicata squash, then boil until soft.  Add the squash cubes, 1 carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks, 1 red bell pepper cubed, 1/2 cup sliced water chestnuts, 1 small head of grated cauliflower and 2 cups chopped sugar snap peas to the broth.  Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are just soft.

For the fish:

Rinse and pat dry 4 small fillets (I used Barramundi, but you can use any fish really).  Add salt and pepper, and 1 tbs flax seed meal to each fillet, pressing the flax seed meal into the flesh.  Heat up 4 tbs coconut oil in a saucepan, and place fish skin side up*/flax seed side down into the pan.  Cook approx 4 minutes each side.

Serve with avocado slices, lime wedges and fresh basil

*note on cooking fish, the skin side attracts the heat, so if you're broiling fish, skin goes down, if you're grilling/frying, skin goes up! 

Rainy Days & Butternut Squash

I woke up to gray.  Not marine layer gray, which always feels like a billowy curtain ready to break up at any moment, but a deeper, heavier gray.  The gray that makes you want to stay home in a hoodie and socks and watch movies and drink tea. We just had a heat wave, what was this??  Summer really never arrived, much to my chagrin, and the oven blasting type of heat we'd been having the past week had set my spirits on such a high...so what the eff was this?  And then it rained.  And I'm not talking the normal sprinkle we usually get - which sends all of us running for cover, a laughable action to most other climates - this was RAIN.  Rain that would make even a Seattle native pull out an umbrella, and they never do that.  So from elevating heat, to dark and stormy seas, the kitchen had to make a change...

I must capitalize on this soup weather.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons for one reason - squash.  When I start seeing squash at the market I get excited for fall.  Granted, I'm usually still in shorts and sandals, but there's a chill in the air!  I can eat squash any way but this (in my opinion) the most delicious, simple dish there is.  Butternut squash has such great no-fuss flavor, and you can make this dish in a flash.  There's something about warm soup that is very comforting to me, and during the cold months - well cold for coastal California - I eat soup most days of the week.  Another thing I love about this is the ingredient list:  butternut squash, onion, salt, pepper, chicken broth.  A few simple, wholesome items can make a big bowl of comfort on a chilly night.

Peel the butternut squash and cube it, removing the seeds.  Put the squash cubes, 1 large diced yellow onion, a little olive oil or butter, and a couple tbs of the chicken stock in a pan and simmer.  Let everything get soft, and the onions get sweet.  Transfer to a food processor or blender* and pulse while adding chicken stock until you get your desired texture.  My favorite garnishes are crumbled turkey bacon and green onions. I also like my soup pretty hot, so I usually put it back in the pot to simmer for a bit.

*if using a blender you may have to batch it, and be careful as the steam can cause the top to pop off and that will equal a major mess